February 2026

At a time when having conversations with others who see the world in a different way feels more fraught than ever, I am comforted by the work our Good People are doing to bridge differences and create connection. While so much of our public discourse pushes us further apart, many of the organizations we support are doing the harder, quieter work of bringing people together, not to paper over real differences, but to build relationships strong enough to hold them. This is the work that doesn’t grab headlines but transforms communities. This is work that matters.

This month, I had the privilege of sitting down with two of our inspiring Good People doing work that feels more essential than ever: Charmaine Rice and Matt Fieldman, co-founders of Rekindle. In a time of growing polarization, we at The Good People Fund, with your help, are rededicating ourselves to supporting bridge-builders.

If you haven’t heard of Rekindle, you’re in for something special. Charmaine and Matt bring Black and Jewish leaders together for honest, brave conversations about identity, belonging, and shared history. What started in Cleveland around a Shabbat table, has now expanded to 20 cities nationwide, with over 150 fellows working to rebuild the historic alliance between their communities, one friendship at a time.

In our Good People Talk! podcast, Charmaine and Matt share what it takes to create spaces where people can have difficult conversations with courage and compassion. They talk about rekindling partnerships built during the Civil Rights Movement, about hope in divided times, and about why this work matters right now more than ever.

I left our conversation inspired, and I think you will too. LISTEN HERE.

THANK YOU.

None of what we do each day is possible without you. You are the reason the bridge-building conversations happen and 64 current grassroots organizations and more than 260 alums, can keep doing their sacred work. It happens because of your generosity and belief in what’s possible.

Thank you for being part of the Good People Fund family.

We’d love to hear from you: Hit reply and tell us what you love about our grassroots tzedakah. Your stories and reflections inspire us and keep us connected to what matters most.

With Gratitude,

Julie

In this episode of Good People Talk, Julie Fisher, associate executive director of The Good People Fund, speaks with Matt Fieldman and Charmaine Rice, co-founders of Rekindle, a Good People Fund grantee bringing Black and Jewish leaders together for dialogue, friendship, and shared action. Matt and Charmaine share what inspired them to create Rekindle and how they’ve built brave spaces for difficult conversations about race, identity, and history. They trace Rekindle’s remarkable growth from a single Cleveland cohort to a national movement spanning 20 cities, exploring what it means to rekindle the historic Black-Jewish alliance forged during the Civil Rights Movement. The conversation delves into how Rekindle fellows are bringing this work back to their own communities, how Matt and Charmaine navigate polarization and division with hope and courage, and ultimately, what gives them hope for the future.

Explore The Good People Fund:

www.goodpeoplefund.org

Read The Good People Fund’s “2025 Journal of Good” for more stories of inspiration and impact:

https://www.goodpeoplefund.org/news-and-publications/journal-of-good/